Horse racing in New Zealand
Beginning
The term ?horse racing? refers to gallops, as distinct from trotting or harness racing. It is one of New Zealand?s oldest organised sports, introduced by English visitors and settlers. A pastime of ancient origin, horse racing developed as a professional sport in 18th-century England. The Jockey Club introduced regulations, and the General Stud Book recorded the pedigrees of thoroughbred horses. In England the sport was run by the nobility, but in New Zealand it was set up by ordinary citizens, using their own horses. As in England, race meetings attracted people from all sections of society.
Provincial anniversary races
Some early races were held as part of festivities to celebrate the arrival of settlers in an area. On 25 January, Wellington?s first anniversary, a hurdle race was held at Te Aro. Contested by four horses for a prize of 15 guineas (?15 15s.), the race was won by Calmuc Tartar, ridden by his owner Henry Petre. Nelson?s first anniversary in February was celebrated with races and other sports, as was Dunedin?s in March and Canterbury?s in December.
First race meetings
The first recorded full-scale race meeting took place at Epsom, Auckland, on 5 and 6 January. In October that year, a ?grand race meeting? was held on Petone beach, near Wellington. A public holiday was declared, and most local inhabitants, both P?keh??and M?ori, attended.
First horses
The first racehorses were ordinary riding mounts, not the speedy thoroughbreds developed specifically for racing, and eventually used exclusively in official races. The first thoroughbred was Figaro, bred in Australia and brought to Wellington by James Watt in March 1840. Figaro easily beat Calmuc Tartar and others at the 1842 Petone meeting.
A popular sport
In the 19th century race days were held wherever sufficient horses, people and opportunity existed. They often took place on public holidays ? even Christmas Day ? and were sometimes the reason for a public holiday, since businesses closed and most of the population attended, including children. Courses were formed on any available land, and grandstands, if they existed, were rudimentary. Mostly spectators followed alongside on horseback or watched from carts or carriages, or other elevated positions.
Gradually race days became better organised. They usually included races for ponies, donkeys, cart horses and even bullocks, and novelty running races for children and men. Courses were not enclosed, and with no admission fee, funds came from leasing rights to refreshment stalls, liquor and gaming booths, sideshow operators and fortune tellers. Musical entertainment was provided by brass bands.
Types of races
The races themselves were tests of endurance. They were mostly run in heats, with horses competing up to three times over the same distance until an overall winner was found. Soon heats were replaced by single races, but even then, horses often ran more than once on the same day. Hurdle events were held at nearly all meetings, and owners often rode their own horses.
Betting
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Types of betting
Betting has always been an integral part of racing. Before the totalisator was introduced, bookmakers, sweepstakes or private wagers were the only ways of betting. Initially regarded with suspicion, the ?tote? became popular. Clubs and the government realised they could collect a percentage of the wagered money, and supported the totalisator?s widespread use. Opposing it were bookmakers (who saw it as competition) and some Protestant church groups (who disapproved of gambling).
Regulation of gambling
With public feeling over gambling running high, the Gaming and Lotteries Act was passed to regulate what had been uncontrolled gambling. Totalisators were licensed and other types of gambling (on sport, card games and billiards) were banned, although bookmakers were still allowed to operate on horse racing. At first the tote calculated only win bets, but later split-pool betting, with the second horse getting 25% of the pool, was introduced. Next came doubles (for winners of two specified races). Further bet types were developed when an automatic totalisator was introduced. Meanwhile, in the face of more anti-gambling agitation, the government had banned bookmakers in 10 years.
TAB
During the next 40 years, racing continued to boom and illegal bookies turned over millions of pounds. Finally, recognising the loss of tax and duty revenue, the government set up its own off-course betting agency. The Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) opened its first two branches in Dannevirke and Feilding . Their popularity was instant and more TABs quickly appeared around the country. They operated under stringent conditions. The idea was to allow off-course betting, not to encourage it. No advertising, no broadcasting of races, no seating (encouraging ?loitering?) and no same-day payouts were permitted.
Changing TABs
Gradually attitudes changed. From that time there were TAB outlets in pubs. New-style TABs offered an enormous range of betting options and provided punters with many home comforts, including television screens. After Sunday racing began, punters could bet virtually every day of the year. Later the TAB offered betting on around 10,600 domestic and 42,000 overseas races (covering gallops, harness and greyhounds). An increasing proportion of betting was done online.
Fixed-odds betting
Legislation? allowed the TAB to operate more sophisticated forms of betting, including fixed-odds betting and betting on sport. Fixed-odds is the method bookmakers use, where the dividend is set at the time of placing a bet, whereas the tote dividend can change right up to the race start. From a modest beginning, fixed-odds betting on racing grew to around $150 million, though the totalisator, at $1,200 million, was still the preferred method.
Racing had a virtual monopoly on gambling before Lotto?s introduction, followed by gaming machines and casinos. Later it had dropped to a distant fourth place behind these other forms of gambling.
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